UK Athletics has today unveiled sports psychologist Professor David Collins as its new performance director.

Collins, who worked with the British squad at the Athens Olympics and has been a sports psychologist for the last 10 years, will take over from Max Jones.

David Moorcroft, chief executive of UK Athletics, said: “We have searched long and hard to ensure we have found the right person.”

Collins has a background in both sport and academia. Currently chair of physical education and sport performance at Edinburgh University, he is also a consultant for UK Athletics’ sports science panel and a member of the British Olympic Association’s psychology steering group. He has also worked as a strength and conditioning coach with several national teams.

As a sports psychologist, Collins worked with the British athletics squads at the Athens Olympics and at the IAAF World Championships in 2001 and 2003.

The appointment of a performance director was a key recommendation of the Foster Report – the review of the performance of athletics which was carried out earlier this year. The report’s author, Sir Andrew Foster, welcomed the news: “The appointment of David Collins, with his strong mix of leadership skills and managerial experience, is testament to the professional and detailed recruitment process that has been carried out,” he said.

Collins is known to be an excellent motivator – he has worked closely with Olympic javelin medallist, Steve Backley, who called him “professional and conscientious”.

However, reactions from the industry are sure to be mixed as Collins has little hands-on experience with coaching athletics. UKA has stressed that the role of performance director will not necessarily require this experience – emphasising the need to develop a senior management team to deliver elite performance.

Collins said: “I’m delighted to have been offered the job. Over the next few months I will spend time listening to those who already make a significant contribution to athletics and indeed other elite sports in the UK.

“I also intend to use the knowledge I have gained from my involvement in other world class programmes and transfer the known successes from other models into ours.”